Tuesday, 14 October 2014

There's a certain amount of stigma surrounding black cats. They hang out with witches; they're bad luck; they're 'boring.' Of course, this is all nonsense, and yet black and black-and-white cats looking for forever homes are often overlooked. That's why Cats Protection is urging people to 'paws' for thought on Thursday 30th October and show support for National Black Cat Day!

The aim of the day is to raise awareness of the many unwanted black and black-and-white moggies inCats Protection’s care, many of whom wait longer to find their forever homes – overlooked by potential families in favour of their more colourful counterparts.

“Black and black-and-white cats make up around half of all the cats in our care – and sadly they waitmuch longer to find their forever home than the average cat,” said Gemma Smith, Cats Protection’s Digital Communications Officer. “They are just as loving and fun as torties and tabbies, and will make the perfect addition to any home, so now it’s time for us to stand up and show our support for them.

"If you love cats just as much as we do, why not consider adopting a black cat, entering our competition or taking part in our campaign?"

To help raise awareness of the many black cats in need, the charity is encouraging people to enter itsNational Black Cat Day competition to win a professional photoshoot, which starts on Monday 6 October.

To enter the competition cat lovers are being asked to take a photo of their beloved black rescue cat and upload it to Cats Protection’s Facebook page, alongside their adoption story. The charity will shortlist its favourites and will be asking Facebook fans to get voting by liking their preferred selfie and story. The photo with the most votes will be crowned National Black Cat Day Champion and will win a professional photoshoot, as well as the honour of becoming the ‘poster cat’ for future rehoming appeals!

The fun doesn’t stop there, however, and there are many different ways to take part on and around theday. More information can be found on the Cats Protection website and social profiles, and by following the #CPBlackCats and #BlackCatSelfie hashtags on Twitter.

To find out more about adopting a black or black-and-white cat, visit the Cats Protection website, or call the the helpline on 03000 12 12 12.

Friday, 10 October 2014

Chip is the winner of our My Dog, my Friend themed September Gallery on our Facebook page!Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo, and for everyone who voted!We're now taking entries for October.

Each month in 2014 we'll be compiling an album of your beloved animals. The picture with the most likes at the end of the month, will win a fantastic Hubble & Hattie book of your choice, and feature in our monthly newsletter!

Love 'em, hate 'em, or run screaming at the sight of them, it's spider season! Spiders get a bad press because a lot of people find them frightening or creepy (eight legs does seem a bit much ...), but our resident spider supporter, Kev, has taken some fantastic photos that prove spiders aren't that bad ... in fact, they can be rather beautiful! Read on to find out more about some of the fascinating eight-legged beauties local to H&H HQ. Be warned, though ... here there be spiders!

Argiope bruennichi, Wasp spider

"The Wasp spider is a member of the orb-web spider family,
and whilst it can be found across much of Europe and North Africa, it’s
only in the last decade that it's appeared in the UK. These photos show
a female, which is much larger and more colourful than the male. In
fact, they can be disconcertingly large, compared to most indigenous
species; the largest of the three individuals I found was about 8cm with
its legs outstretched (this feels MUCH larger when it’s only a few
inches from your face!) They do bite, but they’re not poisonous to
humans.

"Being so large and colourful, they’re easily spotted, and quite a spectacular find when out walking. The
females are now, and a few of them have large egg sacks – and I do mean
large; the largest of the two I’ve seen locally was just under 4cm in
diameter, and was being tended by a slightly smaller female.

"The webs are usually found quite low down, about 20-30cm above the ground, and have a unique
‘zig-zag’
section running vertically through them. No one knows quite what this
is for, but there are several theories. It may be that it helps attract
insects by reflecting UV light. It may also act as a deterrent to ward
off predators; when the web is shaken, the zig-zag creates a bright,
blurry shape to animals which see in the UV range."

A sea of webs ... "These webs on the tips of grasses and bushes are mostly Garden spider
webs. The name isn’t too helpful here, as Garden spiders aren’t just
garden dwellers, and pretty much live everywhere. They also fall into
the orb-web family, which also contains our largest by weight native
species, Araneus quadrata, which, along with the similar but slightly
smaller Araneus diadematus, are the ‘classic’ garden spiders, and – as
you can see from the photos – they’re doing very well this year! On a
dewy morning, you can see literally thousands of these webs, and they
really are a spectacular sight … just make sure you keep to the paths,
though!"